Dutchman's Breeches

Dutchman's breeches are one of the first springflowers to appear in our woods. They literally explode out of the ground, in a couple of sunny days they go from little bunches of frilly green leaves to larger bunches of frilly green leaves with stalks of white blossoms shaped like puffed out pantaloons. They're blooming in abundance this year, many of them on hillsides/rockwalls where I can climb up and view them at eye level, not having to crawl upon the ground to view them close up.

My Audubon guide tells me that these are pollinated by bumblebees who have a "proboscis long enough to tap the nectar". I often see bumblebees buzzing about these flowers, trying to get a clear photograph of them is challenging. They're busy trying to get food and don't often sit still posing for me.

Another critter I sometimes see crawling about is the stilt bug, pretty little green bug, looks like a miniature walkingstick. To get these shots I was standing amongst the rocks on the hillside, picking my way about carefully to get a footing for both me and tripod. There was a 3 foot drop behind my heels, I kept my left arm firmly wrapped round a small ironwood tree to steady myself. To the left of me was a large section of rock that has parted from the base rock, there is a long 18 inch wide gap. When I was 4 and 5 years old I used to scamper through that gap, it was like a secret hiding place. I looked longingly at that gap, reminded that in my near five decades of life on this planet my travels through these rock hills have slowed from a scamper to a careful treading and plodding.